Lymphokine production in patients with alzheimer's disease

The capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from patients with Alzheimer's disease to produce interleukin-1 and -2 (IL-1, IL-2) was compared to that of cells from age-matched controls and young healthy subjects. There was no difference in the production of both interleukins between patients and their age-matched controls. On the other hand, the production of IL-1 by the PBMC of healthy young volunteers was significantly higher than that of the cells from patients and subjects of the other two groups. Although the results indicated a higher production of IL-2 by PBMC from younger individuals, the difference in comparison with the other two groups was not statistically significant.